Current treatments for bacterial infections rely upon antibiotics. However widely spread published reports indicate that although antibiotics were initially miracle cures, they are now increasingly ineffective due to the emergence of new bacteria strains including many resistant “superbugs.” Compounding the superbug phenomena is the observation that as quickly as new antibiotics are used, the pathogenic bacteria populations shift towards refractory strains. Furthermore, antibiotics are minimally if not contra-indicated in patients with co-existing viral infections. Antibiotic treatment in such patients, while potentially effective against the bacteria, may potentiate the viral infection.
Thus, there is a need to find new ways to identify drugs that will reduce bacteria infections, and in particular bacteria infections within patients with viral infections.